The sad slide into obscurity for once beloved music acts often involves new adult pop tunes, greatest hits collections, cover albums and perhaps even a record of holiday songs.
In the past couple years, mega rockers Def Leppard seemed to be sliding down that slippery has-been slope.
The '80s rockers were caught acting their age on their previous studio album, 2002's "X," and last year the band put out a 25th anniversary hits compilation called "Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection." On Tuesday Def Leppard released a cover album.
But don't be so quick to judge — "Yeah!" is a surprisingly fun album.
While Def Leppard was able to fantastically capture the spirit and the sounds of the '80s, the band always insisted it was influenced by early '70s glam rock. On "Yeah!" the band finally proves it.
People are also reading…
Def Leppard pays homage to its influences in a collection of 14 well-chosen cover songs, including the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset," T. Rex's "20th Century Boy," David Essex's "Rock On," the Faces' "Stay With Me" and Free's "Little Bit of Love." There's also Sweet's "Hell Raiser," Electric Light Orchestra's "10538 Overture," David Bowie's "Drive-In Saturday" and Badfinger's "No Matter What."
Sure, some songs fall stylistically outside Def Leppard's typical rock anthems, but there's nothing tedious in the rehashing. The album actually manages to keep the spirit of the originals even while it thoroughly Leppard-izes them. Overall, "Yeah!" sounds pretty convincingly like a Def Leppard album, and it's harder rocking than the band's last studio attempt.
While "Yeah!" lacks anything quite as anthem-like as "Pour Some Sugar On Me," it may help fans remember why they loved the band so much all those years ago and whet their appetites for new material. It might be time for a Def Leppard resurgence. We can only hope the next thing from the Def Leppard front has nothing to do with Christmas carols.
